What are the customs and taboos of Manchu?

Manchu is mainly distributed in three northeastern provinces of China, with Liaoning being the largest. In addition, there are a few Manchu scattered in other large and medium-sized cities.

Manchu has a long history. 1644, the Qing army entered the customs, unified China, and formed a situation in which Manchu and Han lived together for a long time. 19 1 1 After the Revolution of 1911, Manchu was renamed Manchu.

Manchu originally had its own language and writing, belonging to Manchu branch of Manchu-Tungusic language family of Altai language family. Manchu was founded at the end of 16, borrowing Mongolian letters. 17 In the 1940s, after a large number of Manchu entered the customs, Chinese was widely used.

Manchu people have loved singing and dancing since ancient times, and ancient dance evolved from hunting and fighting activities. Manchu people's favorite recreational activities include vault, camel jumping and skating. /kloc-In the middle of the 8th century, "Children of the Eight Banners" created a new drum word, which was called "Yin Qing Zidishu" when it was sung with drums and three strings.

Historically, Manchu men like to wear blue robes and jackets, with hair and braids behind their heads, domes and trousers. Women, on the other hand, like to wear cheongsam, bow or "bun", ring and handkerchief around their waist. After Manchu entered the customs, the dress tended to be consistent with that of Han nationality, but the cheongsam was handed down with its unique charm and became the traditional dress of women in China.

custom

Manchu people honor their elders and pay attention to etiquette. When they meet elders on the road, they should bow sideways and wait for them to pass by. Not only the younger generation should greet the elders, but also the younger generation should greet the elders. When relatives and friends meet, in addition to shaking hands to say hello, some people will also say hello. During the Spring Festival, we should worship once every two years, once on the evening of the 30th, once on the New Year's Day, which is called welcoming the new year.

Manchu traditional houses are generally divided into three rooms: west, middle and east, with the gate facing south. The west room is called the upper room in the west, the middle room is called the hall, and the east room is called the lower room in the east. There are three health in the west, namely, south, west and north. Xikanggui, Beikangda, Nankang Small. Visitors live in Xikang, elders live in Beikang, and younger generations live in Nankang.

Taboo: indoor Xikang is not allowed to sit and lie down and pile up sundries at will; Avoid beating, killing and eating dog meat; Guests who don't wear a dog skin hat or a dog skin mattress are forbidden to wear a dog skin hat or a dog skin sleeve.

marriage customs

Manchu wedding not only has the strong characteristics of local people, but also integrates many customs and etiquette of Han nationality. Generally speaking, it must go through the following procedures:

Engagement: There are two forms of engagement between young Manchu men and women. First, the parents of young men and women are acquaintances, know each other well and intend to get married, so please ask the matchmaker to promise their children a lifetime. Some men propose to women, while others propose to men. The other is that men and women don't know each other and entrust the matchmaker to engage their children. The matchmaker will give them "portal stickers" and issue their flags, resumes, surnames and three generations. Besides, we should test each other's birthdays.

Release: Give gifts immediately. There are two kinds of amplification and amplification. Letting Xiaoding go means that the future daughter-in-law will visit relatives of the man's family, such as aunt, brother and sister-in-law, and get property. Enlarged it is called "big gift", commonly known as "big dish", that is, choose an auspicious day of the zodiac, and the man will send the bride price to the woman's house.

The day before the wedding, people who bid farewell to their families should drink "windward wine". The bride left home to live in a good apartment borrowed by the man, commonly known as "shooting down." The next morning, the woman saw her off with a float and was escorted by her brother. For example, wells, temples and graves in Lu Yu are covered with red carpets, commonly known as "evil spirits". At the same time, the man also greeted the bride with a float. The two cars met halfway, and the outer shafts were wrong. The bride is carried into the wedding car by her brother, which is called "inserting the car". When the float arrived at the groom's house, there was a brazier on the ground in front of the bridal chamber, commonly known as "too much is not as good as evil spirits". In order to drive away or kill the ghost that comes with the sedan chair, the groom should shoot three arrows at the sedan chair door; There are also real shots, but they are usually taken under the sedan chair to avoid hurting the bride. Then, the bride was helped out of the sedan chair to heaven and earth, and kowtowed to the north three times with the groom, commonly known as "worshipping Beidou". The purpose is to pray for God to bless the newlyweds and let their children and grandchildren grow old together.

After these ceremonies, the bride is brought into the bridal chamber by a general practitioner (that is, a person whose parents and children are present). When the bride crosses the threshold, there is a saddle on the threshold and the bride must cross it. The beds in the new house must be made by all practitioners. After the new house is paved, music should be played in the room. This is called a "ringing room". When the bride entered the bridal chamber, a little girl took a picture of the bride with two bronze mirrors in her hand, and then hung the bronze mirrors on her chest and back. Then, another little girl handed me two tin cans containing rice, money and so on. Brides either hold them in their arms or put them under their armpits, commonly known as "holding bottles" or "holding media pots". When the bride sits firmly on the bed, the groom takes off the red cloth covering the bride's head with the weight, which is called "lifting the veil". Next, the husband and wife drink a toast and eat happy noodles, longevity noodles or children's cakes.

Dietary customs

Manchu people eat three meals during busy farming hours and two meals during slack farming hours. The staple foods are mostly millet and sorghum rice, japonica rice and dried rice. I like to add red beans or baked beans to rice, such as sorghum rice and dried bean rice. In some areas, corn is the staple food, and corn flour is fermented into "sour soup". Manchu cakes have a long history and became the staple food of the court in the Qing Dynasty. Among them, the most representative is the imperial meal "Chestnut Noodles Wowotou", also known as Xiaowotou. Saqima, a Manchu dim sum, has also become a famous pastry in China. The famous ones are the cakes of Qing Dongling, also known as the cakes of Qing Dongling, the cakes of Beijing snacks, the cakes of Chengde snacks in Hebei, and the cakes of lard snacks in Jingzhou, Hubei.

It is cold in winter in the north, and there are no fresh vegetables. Manchu people often eat sauerkraut (pickles) as their staple food in autumn and winter. It is said that the method of preserving vegetables began in Shunzhi period of Qing Dynasty. Boiled white meat vermicelli with sauerkraut is a common dish for Manchu people after winter. In addition, daily vegetables include radishes and beans.

Manchu people love to eat pork and often cook it in white. Manchu restaurants in Shenyang, Liaoning Province have a history of 100 years. Its white meat and blood sausage is known as authentic Manchu flavor.

Typical food: Manchu people live in scattered places, and there are typical foods that are representative everywhere, mainly including: white meat and blood sausage, hot pot, sour soup, cakes of Qing Dongling, etc. Also known as Dongqing Tomb. The pie is eight pieces per catty, commonly known as eight pieces of Qing Dongling; Cookies are sixteen pieces per catty, commonly known as eight pieces of Qing Dongling. The varieties of large and small cakes mainly include Taishi cake, muffin, rose cake, Longfeng cake, hawthorn peach and so on. There are also seven-star ideas, eight-point cakes, walnut cakes and crispy cakes.

Holidays and festivals

Traditional festivals mainly include Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, February 2nd, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. Traditional sports activities such as "Pearl Ball", vault, camel jumping and skating are generally held during festivals.

Golden Festival: It is the National Day of Manchu. 1635 Lunar New Year+10 On March 3rd, Huang Taiji issued an imperial edict, officially changing the surname "Nuzhen" to "Manchuria", which marked the formation of a new national identity. 1989 10, at the first Manchu culture seminar in Dandong, 12.3 was designated as the annual "Golden Festival".

Away from all diseases: a festival for Manchu women. Usually on the sixteenth day of the first month. That night, women in groups of three or five traveled far away, or went roller skating, or had fun, and were called "peers with all diseases."

February 2 nd: commonly known as "Dragon Rise Day". On the morning of the same day, Manchu people scattered kitchen ashes in the courtyard, and the ash road was curved like a dragon, so it was called "Zhao Long". Then a ceremony was held in the yard to pray for good weather. The whole family will eat "Longxu Noodles" and "Longlin cake". Women can't do needlework on this day.

Tomb-Sweeping Day: When going to the grave to pay homage to the ancestors, it is not the Han people who put money on the top of the grave after making paper money, but put a "Buddha flower" in the grave. "Frodo" is Manchu, which translates into "willow" or "willow branch" in Chinese. According to Manchu belief, willow is the ancestor of man, and man is the descendant of willow. In order to show that there are successors, willows should be inserted in the grave.

Talking about cheongsam

Cheongsam is one of the modern popular clothes and enjoys a high reputation in the international clothing window.

Cheongsam evolved from ancient Manchu costumes.

Qipao is called "Yi Jie" in Manchu. In ancient times, it generally referred to the clothes worn by men and women in Manchuria, Mongolia and the Eight Banners of the Han Army.

There are several characteristics in the clothing styles in the early Qing dynasty: collarless, arrow sleeves, left slit, four slits and waist-binding. Arrow sleeve is a kind of narrow sleeve, the sleeve head is semicircular, shaped like a horseshoe, also known as "horseshoe sleeve". Horseshoe sleeves are raised on weekdays and put down during hunting to cover the back of the hand, which can keep out the cold in winter. Four slits, that is, the hem of the robe is slit to the knee. Left leg and waist, tight and warm, a waist belt, when walking pigs, you can put dry food and utensils in front. Men's robes are mostly blue, gray and cyan, and women's flags are mostly white.

Another feature of Manchu cheongsam is that the waist is closed on the cheongsam coat. The vest has a pair of lapels, a twisted lapel, a pipa lapel and a straight lapel. Wear a vest and ride a horse. It's smart and neat.

Manchu moved south to Liaoning and Shenyang, and after entering the Central Plains, they joined the Han nationality. Influenced by the Han nationality's "big collar and big sleeves" costumes, they changed from arrow sleeves to trumpet sleeves, and four slits evolved into left and right slits.

In 1930s, Manchu men and women wore straight long-sleeved robes. Women's cheongsam hem to (left bone and right torso) (calf), embroidered with floral patterns. Men's cheongsam hem and ankle, no ornamentation. After the 1940s, due to the impact of new fashion at home and abroad, Manchu men's cheongsam was abandoned. Women's cheongsam has changed from wide sleeves to narrow sleeves, the straight tube has become tight and close to the waist, the hips are slightly larger, and the hem is recycled to the ankles. Gradually formed today's various cheongsam styles that focus on color decoration and the beauty of human body lines. Because cheongsam is very suitable for China women's figure, virtuous personality and national temperament, this traditional dress originated from Manchu has gradually become a treasure house of China national culture, which is favored and appreciated by women at home and abroad.

Flavor bobo

Bobo is the main food of Manchu people in peacetime and festivals. This cake is made of glutinous rice. There are bean flour cakes, bean leaf cakes and sticky cakes. Bean flour cake is made by grinding rice and millet into fine powder, then adding soybean powder and steaming. This cake is golden yellow, sticky and delicious. Su Ye Hele is made of sticky sorghum batter and bean paste, and then wrapped with Su Ye and steamed. It has the special aroma and unique flavor of perilla leaves. Sticky cakes and cakes are soaked in rhubarb rice and ground into flour. Add some bean paste in the middle of the yellow wheat and steam. This kind of cake can be fried or dipped in sugar. Sweet and fragrant.

Manchu cakes are very hungry, easy to carry and unique in flavor, and they are still quite popular food.

Sour soup is also a traditional food of Manchu. It is made from corn flour by fermentation. First, soak the corn in water and grind it into water, then use a cloth bag to remove residue and put the water in a barrel for fermentation. When it is sour, squeeze it into noodles with a funnel or machine and cook it. Sometimes the fermentation is too large and slightly sour, so it is also called "smelly rice". In Liaoning, it is called "(left fire and right fork) Zi". There is also a branch library in the northeast urban and rural areas, which specializes in "smelly rice".

Saqima is a famous Manchu pastry in China. Its predecessor is the traditional Manchu pastry-rubbing bags. To make dough, first put the steamed rice on a cake-beating stone and beat it repeatedly with a wooden hammer, then dip it in soybeans and rub it into strips, fry it and cut it into pieces, and then pour a thick layer of cooked soybeans to eat. Rubbing cakes was an important sacrifice of Manchu in the past, so it was also called "beating cakes and peony strips". Later, when the cooked bean flour was replaced by white sugar, it became a "sugar bag" and was renamed Saqima. People also call it icing cake. This kind of cake has good color, fragrance, taste and shape, and is deeply loved by people.

There are many kinds of Manchu cakes, each with its own characteristics. Golden steamed buns, crispy fried dumplings, soft rice cakes, exquisite cauldron cakes, in addition, there are gold silk cakes, sun cakes, cold cakes, wine cakes, spring cakes and so on. , a large number, leading the way, are traditional Manchu flavor.

The custom of becoming a monk

Manchu called the birth of a baby "becoming an outlaw". When a woman is in labor, she sweeps the kang, puts a stone on it, puts some straw on the kang, and gives birth to a child on the grass, so it is called "becoming an outlaw". This custom has a strong primitive and rough tradition of hunting nations. Hay can protect against moisture and cold.

If the baby is a boy, a wooden bow and arrow will be hung at the front door of the house, commonly known as "childe arrow". This is not a real bow and arrow, but a bow made of branches wrapped in red cloth and three arrows. I wish the child a good rider and shooter when he grows up and becomes famous. If the baby is a girl, a red cloth is hung on the right side of the gate to symbolize good luck. Hanging red cloth strips gradually evolved into the symbol of delivery room. No one is allowed to break into the delivery room, because strangers will take the milk away. This is called "milk collection". If a stranger accidentally intrudes, he will make a bowl of soup and send it. This is called "returning milk". When a child is born, you should first invite a person with great ability, good personality and good looks to the delivery room. This is called "stepping on life". It is said that when a child grows up, whoever steps on it looks like him.

On the third day after the child was born, please ask a prestigious old lady to bathe the child. Bathing is carried out in a large copper basin filled with Sophora branches, mugwort leaves and hot water. The old lady held the child in one hand and bathed the child in the other. Singing while washing: "Wash your hair and be a prince; Wash your waist, each generation is taller than the next; Wash your face, be a magistrate, wash your ditch, and be a magistrate. " Finally, the old lady hit the baby three times with an onion and said, "One dozen is clever, two dozen are clever, and three dozen are bright." After the fight, the father threw onions into the room, and relatives and friends celebrated together.

After the child's full moon, take back the "Gongzi Arrow" and the red cloth hanging on the door, tie them on the child's rope, and put them in the child's bag on the north side of the middle of the Western Wall, next to which the "Buddha Mother" is enshrined, which is the god of baby protection. Every spring and autumn, Manchu families have to offer sacrifices to the Buddha mother for blessing. When offering sacrifices, pull the children and grandchildren from the shrine to the willow branches in the yard. Unmarried men and women in the family and women with children bow down before the case, and everyone bows down. Shaman dipped willow branches in water and sprinkled them on children's heads, so that children could smoke them in front of incense trays to drive away evil spirits. Then he took the colorful threads off the children's ropes and put them around the children's necks. Three days later, take the colorful thread back and store it in the child's schoolbag. Because multicolored thread is called "sewing thread", this custom is called "changing lock".

Riding leisurely after the full moon is a traditional way for Manchu people. The recreational vehicle is made of thin wooden boards, 2 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, with round ends and a bottom, which is like a boat. Tie the child to the beam with four ropes, at a certain distance from the ground, and put the child in the recreational vehicle. It is very light for a baby to cry and shake if he doesn't cry. Mother can also do some housework. The Manchu family gave birth to the first boy, and the leisure car was given by grandma's family.

In order to prevent the child from falling off the recreational vehicle, and considering that the archery arm is straight and the position of the riding leg is correct when the child grows up, the child's elbow, leg knee and ankle are tied with a belt, so that the child can only lie on his back. Therefore, Manchu teenagers are physically strong and rarely bend over. Manchu people regard flat head as beauty, so they usually put millet or sorghum as pillows under their children's heads, commonly known as "sleeping flat head".